6And the messengers turn back unto Jacob, saying, ‘We came in unto thy brother, unto Esau, and he also is coming to meet thee, and four hundred men with him;’

7and Jacob feareth exceedingly, and is distressed, and he divideth the people who [are] with him, and the flock, and the herd, and the camels, into two camps,

8and saith, ‘If Esau come in unto the one camp, and have smitten it — then the camp which is left hath been for an escape.’

9And Jacob saith, ‘God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Jehovah who saith unto me, Turn back to thy land, and to thy kindred, and I do good with thee:

10I have been unworthy of all the kind acts, and of all the truth which Thou hast done with thy servant — for, with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

11‘Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I am fearing him, less he come and have smitten me — mother beside sons;

12and Thou — Thou hast said, I certainly do good with thee, and have set thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered because of the multitude.’

13And he lodgeth there during that night, and taketh from that which is coming into his hand, a present for Esau his brother:

14she-goats two hundred, and he-goats twenty, ewes two hundred, and rams twenty,

15suckling camels and their young ones thirty, cows forty, and bullocks ten, she-asses twenty, and foals ten;

16and he giveth into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and saith unto his servants, ‘Pass over before me, and a space ye do put between drove and drove.’

17And he commandeth the first, saying, ‘When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and hath asked thee, saying, Whose [art] thou? and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before thee?

18then thou hast said, Thy servant Jacob's: it [is] a present sent to my lord, to Esau; and lo, he also [is] behind us.’

19And he commandeth also the second, also the third, also all who are going after the droves, saying, ‘According to this manner do ye speak unto Esau in your finding him,

20and ye have said also, Lo, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us;’ for he said, ‘I pacify his face with the present which is going before me, and afterwards I see his face; it may be he lifteth up my face;’

21and the present passeth over before his face, and he hath lodged during that night in the camp.

22And he riseth in that night, and taketh his two wives, and his two maid-servants, and his eleven children, and passeth over the passage of Jabbok;

23and he taketh them, and causeth them to pass over the brook, and he causeth that which he hath to pass over.

24And Jacob is left alone, and one wrestleth with him till the ascending of the dawn;

25and he seeth that he is not able for him, and he cometh against the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh is disjointed in his wrestling with him;

26and he saith, ‘Send me away, for the dawn hath ascended:’ and he saith, ‘I send thee not away, except thou hast blessed me.’

27And he saith unto him, ‘What [is] thy name?’ and he saith, ‘Jacob.’

28And he saith, ‘Thy name is no more called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast been a prince with God and with men, and dost prevail.’

29And Jacob asketh, and saith, ‘Declare, I pray thee, thy name;’ and he saith, ‘Why [is] this, thou askest for My name?’ and He blesseth him there.

30And Jacob calleth the name of the place Peniel: for ‘I have seen God face unto face, and my life is delivered;’

31and the sun riseth on him when he hath passed over Penuel, and he is halting on his thigh;

32therefore the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew which shrank, which [is] on the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because He came against the hollow of Jacob's thigh, against the sinew which shrank.

maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

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Genesis 32

Jacob Meets Esau

1When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. 2When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So Jacob named that place Mahanaim.# This name means “two camps.”

3Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. 4Jacob told the messengers, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’”

6The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. And he has 400 men with him.”

7Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him into two camps. He also divided all the flocks, herds and camels into two camps. 8Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp. But the other camp can run away and be saved.”

9Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would do good to me. 10I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick. But now I own enough to have two camps. 11Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12You said to me, ‘I will do good to you. I will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’”

13Jacob stayed there for the night. He prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him. 14It was 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. 15There were 30 female camels and their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants. Then he said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you. He will ask you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? Whose animals are these?’ 18Then you will answer, ‘These animals belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you my master, Esau. And Jacob also is coming behind us.’”

19Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” Jacob thought, “If I send this gift ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21So Jacob sent the gift to Esau. But Jacob stayed that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing. He took his 2 wives, his 2 slave girls and his 11 sons with him. 23He sent his family and everything he had across the river. 24But Jacob stayed behind alone. And a man came and wrestled with him until the sun came up. 25The man saw that he could not defeat Jacob. So he struck Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. 26Then the man said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”

But Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.”

27The man said to him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, “Jacob.”

28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel,# This name means “he wrestles with God.” because you have wrestled with God and with men. And you have won.”

29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.

30So Jacob named that place Peniel.# This name means “the face of God.” He said, “I have seen God face to face. But my life was saved.” 31Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place. Jacob was limping because of his leg. 32So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals. This is because Jacob was touched there.

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Genesis 32

Genesis 32